The Guild is not a democracy. Guild Rules and Policies are determined by the Guild Officers and may be changed or amended at any time by a consensus vote among the Guild Officers. If a member of the guild has questions or concerns regarding guild rules or policy they should follow the chain of command by contacting a Guild Officer via PM on the SoA forum.

All new members must first be sponsored by two current guild members (New members still on probation are not allowed to sponsor). If you would like to sponsor a new member you must notify the guild recruiting officer. The recruiting officer will verify the sponsorship and then survey the membership at large for feedback on the applicant. Note: The recruiting officer can bypass the feedback process from time to time at their judgement. ALL new members will be put on a one month probation period. At the end of this period the new member is either given full access to the guild or is asked to leave. Second chances may be given after a guild officer meeting.

When a member leaves the guild, re-entry must be approved by the guild leader. If approval is granted they may then follow the normal application process to rejoin. In general re-entry will not be permitted under the following circumstances:

• Member leaves to join another guild and recruits for the new guild out of SoA membership.
• Member leaves in a fit of pique.
• Member is removed from the guild for disciplinary reasons.

Exceptions to this policy are not limited to this list and are at the sole discretion of the officers.

Members will conduct themselves in a manner that will reflect favorably on Shield of Azeroth. Conduct unbecoming a member of Shield of Azeroth is defined as those actions that may bring the guild into disrepute, discredit the member, or impair the operation of the guild or even be illegal.

Depending on the severity of any case, action may be taken by an Officer ranging from a request for an apology, reparation or in extreme cases immediate deguilding and/or notification to Blizzard.

The chain of command, between the guild leader and the members, will be preserved. Members are encouraged to utilize their officers to help solve minor problems and to answer questions relating to the guild.

Members should respect the position of officer and follow officer instructions when relating to matters that involve guild rules and policies.

New officers will be appointed by existing officers on an as needed basis. Members are encouraged to provide recommendations for new officers at any time. The guild will maintain at least one officer in each of the following positions:

Guild Leader: Writes policy for approval by Officers, administers sanctions against members for violations of policy, ensures fair treatment to all members and assists all Officers in fulfilling their roles.

Raid Officer: Organizes and conducts guild raids, researches potential raid sites and posts concise, relevant zone, loot and mob information. Advertises the raids on the forums, raid calendar and Guild Message Of The Day in game.

Recruiting Officer: Heads recruiting efforts of qualified members, generates prospects and follow-up on leads for new membership. Greets new members to the guild and ensures they are clear on the rules, who the officers are, and who the guild leader is. Keeps accurate information on the roster system. The Recruiting Officer also has a major role in deciding what levels and classes we are open to.

Grievance Officer: This officer is responsible for minor issues of misconduct and the general happiness and well being of the guild. Major misconduct issues will be discuss between the Guild Leader and the Grievance Officer

Emeritus Officers: If an Officer is unable to fulfill his/her duties for an extended period of time they will be given the title Emeritus. Officers may appoint a replacement on an as needed basis. Emeritus officers retain all officer and forum rights and may be returned to active status at any time.

No person, because of his/her rank within the guild, is exempt from these standards of conduct. Officers especially are held to a higher criteria, and must take the responsibility for following, implementing, and enforcing these standards.

It is an Officer's duty to visit the boards more often than members and to provide requested feedback in a timely manner. This is necessary to the functioning of the guild and an essential task in an Officer's role.

Abuse of authority is specifically prohibited.

Officers must investigate and report, as appropriate, alleged incidents of misconduct or violations of the standards of conduct and post all information in the Officer Forum.

Abusive or profane language from an officer directed toward a member is prohibited.

The Shield of Azeroth is a guild that raids, not a raiding guild. People are encouraged to attend raids, but are not required. While we expect to work our way through the various raid mobs and dungeons, progress will not be as fast as a dedicated raiding guild.

The Raid Leader is responsible for posting (on the Raid Board) the location, minimum level requirement (if any), and the gathering and starting times for the raid.

The Raid Leader has total authority for the raid. Groups will be formed to ensure the success of the raid. Arguing over the composition of the groups will not be tolerated.

Do not send tells to the Raid Leader unless you are requested to provide specific information. The coordination of a raid takes a lot of work and the constant interruptions only make it worse.

Failure to follow the Raid Leader's instructions can result in your banishment from the raid. A second occurrence can result in exclusion from future raids. A third offense can result in guild removal.

Please remember to thank the Raid leaders. They need to know we appreciate them for taking on the difficult and mostly thankless task of running a raid. They are always doing their very best to make sure the raid is run fairly and in a manner that provides the most enjoyment for all. Without them, all the cool loot would not be possible.

Any Officer on a raid my handle loot requests. When an item is to be distributed, an Officer will announce it to the raid. If you are interested in the item send a tell to that Officer. When multiple items drop at once, there may be different officers for each item. Make sure you send a tell to the correct officer for the item you are interested in.

After everyone interested has sent tells to the Officer, the Officer will choose who will receive the item based on the current loot policy.

Questioning item distribution during the raid will not be tolerated. However, if you have a concern or question with the way loot is handed out, please send the officer in charge of that item, the raid leader and or a Grievance Officer a PM after the raid. Mistakes will be made and we want to learn from them. However bring up complaints during the raid will only cause additional frustrations and can slow down loot distribution and the raid itself.

Items will be primarily awarded using EPGP. You can find out how this works works here. However, the final call is always at the discretion of the officers. More specific policy and loot information will be kept up to date on the forums.

Tradeskill items: Tradeskill items gathered on a raid will be used to benefit the guild and will not be handed out for purposes of selling them or any resulting gear in the Auction House or elsewhere.

A final note;
If something drops that is an upgrade for you... ask for it! If you have gotten a drop already and want something, consider sending a request with 'only if no one else wants it'. If you are playing a character that you, by design, intend to be an alt, be especially considerate if gear drops for those people who are playing their main character. This behavior is something that we already do, it is at the heart of what makes us a family guild. We care about our guild and we care about each other. Our loot policy is a natural extension of the basic concepts that we hold dear. And is.. as always .. a work in progress.